This is an AWESOME pinot noir. I was privileged enough to have a glass of it today at lunch, and while it's out of my budget range ($25 for a bottle -- you don't want to know how much it was per glass), I can vouch for the fact that it may just be worth the price of the bottle. It was light, with a hint of fruit but not an overpowering taste, and a smooth, delicate finish.
So, back to last night's dinner. In addition to the fried rice, Jennie and I finished off the leftover chicken, Jackson had Gorton's fried shrimp (I may live in the South but I'm not that good at frying foods), and I made blackened tuna steak for Chris.
Now, I don't do traditional blackened fish. When the Cajun concoction first became popular, I discovered that when I properly blackened the fish, it also involved billowing smoke, screaming smoke alarms and occasionally an impromptu visit from the fire department. After a few such episodes, the slightly less dramatic presentation afforded by simply grilling the fish with the spices seemed more prudent.
Spice mixture:
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teapsoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Combine seasonings, spread olive oil and some lime or lemon juice on both sides of the filet and coat both sides with the spice mixture. Grill to your satisfaction. I like it practically raw. This works well with almost any kind of fish you'd care to try. I usually use either tuna or tilapia.
Tonight's fast food offering (late getting home from work/taekwondo again tonight) was chicken fingers, steamed broccoli, and homemade macaroni and cheese. The chicken finger recipe came from the back of the Bisquick box, so I'm NOT going to repeat it here -- suffice to say it ain't gourmet cooking, but the family likes it, so there.
Macaroni and cheese is easier than most people think, really, and it's a great comfort food that can be served on its own, with steamed veggies, or as an accompaniment to any meat dish. My mom's recipe is pretty easy: boil water and cook 2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni until just tender (after all these years, I just KNOW when it's done, but I think it's about 8-10 minutes). Drain macaroni and set aside. In the same pot (think easy clean-up, people), melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and then mix 2 Tablespoons of flour in it until smooth. Add 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil, stirring until thick (if you're a patient Virgo -- we Sagittarians just stir until we get impatient, thicken the sauce with the cheese and call it good). Add salt and pepper to taste and dump in 8 ounces or a little more of shredded cheese. I use the Mexican Blend which consists of a few different cheeses and, if I pick up the wrong package as I did last weekend, a little jalapeno (I wondered what those dark flakes were!) but fortunately no one noticed that one but me. Stir in the drained macaroni, dump everything in a casserole dish and top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees (or whatever temperature you have the oven going at -- this is a forgiving recipe, as most of mine are) for about 15 minutes until the top gets lightly brown and delicious looking. Leftovers microwave really well the next day too.
From high end pinot noir to Bisquick chicken fingers -- my range is pretty all-encompassing! Leave no cork unturned or food untried (though some, like Stinky Tofu, which lived up -- or down -- to its name, are better tried once and then backed away from slowly)!
No comments:
Post a Comment